v i d e o : social at the new krankenhouse

here’s a short film from one of the social nights at the new krankenhouse squat, which i wrote about in my previous post. this was towards the end of march when the occupation was at its peak. the shift to a new location and the sheer magnitude of the space unleashed a wave of exuberant optimism and creativity in stark contrast to the grim factional bickering of the group’s final months in the old building. i hope a little of that positivity and excitement comes through in the film.

the community made great efforts to prepare the space for the night and the result was magical. turning an abandoned twenty-foot river boat into a tilted bar and lounge was a stroke of genius. some friends of the group had brought it round one day saying they needed a big enough space to repair it after which they promptly vanished. apparently it was cheaper to transport it to the warehouse and dump it than to scrap it.

the second huge space was turned into a skate and bike park for the night. you can glimpse some of the crazy re-engineered bikes which are created in the community. most of them are fiendishly difficult to ride.

watching the film again i cannot help but feel sad knowing it wasn’t destined to last. within a month the building had been repossessed and everyone had moved on. but in the squatting community i get the sense that the most beautiful things are often fleeting.